Petunia's Magical Education
by MaritimeStars
Summary: What if Petunia, who is three years younger than Lily for the sake of this story, is actually a witch and she accepts a spot in Hogwarts incoming class? Set during the Marauder era. Slytherin!Petunia. AU. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

AN: JK Rowling owns everything.

**NOTE:** For this story, Lily is three years older than Petunia and Regulus is three years younger than Sirius.

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Now standing in the small chamber that was off to one-side of the Great Hall, Petunia felt a twinge of nervousness. She was completely in awe of the castle around her; Lily's descriptions hadn't done it justice. The boats were magical experience and from the lake, the castle looked absolutely enormous. Now that she was inside, she could tell that it was an ancient castle and the magic humming through the walls was lifting her spirits. As the stern looking woman, who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall in her thick Scottish accent, was gently opening the doors to the Great Hall, as Petunia frantically looked around for her sister. Spotting her sister, at what she assumed to be the Gryffindor table, she relaxed a little bit.

The first years formed a neat line behind Professor McGonagall , many of them still gazing at their surroundings in wonder. Lily had caught sight of her younger sister and had given her a small wave.

As Petunia continue to look at the cathedral enchanted ceiling, and the large medieval windows, she didn't notice Professor McGonagall transfigure a tissue into a three-legged brown stool, pull out a large scroll from the inside of her pocket, or retrieve an ancient looking Hat from the Headmaster.

Suddenly, and startling Petunia, the hat began to sing:

_Young, fresh minds come sit beneath my head,_

_Find out the house to live in,_

_While you seek the knowledge of our walls,_

_Will it be Hufflepuff, loyal and true?_

_Or Ravenclaw, smart and blue?_

_The Brave Grffyindor's,_

_Or the slippery Slytherins._

_Forge bonds of friendship,_

_Strong and fierce,_

_Yet refuse to be divided,_

_Stand strong as a school,_

_Come young minds,_

_I shall sort you, one and all. _

When the hat was done singing, everyone in the school continued to keep their attention focused on the small brown stool.

'Stupid charmed hat,' Petunia thought to herself, believing in anything of what the hat just said.

Professor McGonagall carefully unrolled the scroll, and began to call names of scared first years.

"Justin Ackleton," was the first name called. A small boy with reddish brown hair nervously approached the stool and gently placed the hat upon his head.

"HUFFLEPUFF" the hat cried as soon as it touched his head. Looking relieved, the boy jumped off the stool and ran towards the table where everyone, all wearing yellow and black ties with badgers on the front of their robes, was now standing and cheering for him.

"Regulus Black" the stern Professor called, and a small boy with untidy looking hair strode up to the stool appearing confident. He obviously knew what house he was going to be sorted into, and he already had the Black coat of arms and crest emblazoned onto the left side of his robes.

"SLYTHERIN" the hat screamed, barely even touching a hair on the boy's head, and he smiled and arrogantly walked towards the table that was clapping loudly as he approached the table.

"Cheryl Beckton"

"RAVENCLAW," the hat shouted out immediately again, and the girl merrily ran off towards the blue-colored tie table, where most of the people appeared as though they were bookworms.

A few students later, all of which Petunia had zoned out listening too because she was musing about what house she would be placed into and how cute that Black boy was, Petunia heard her own name called. Suddenly realizing that it was scary when the whole school's attention was focused on you, she nervously made her way to the brown school.

"Please let me be anywhere but Gryffindor" she thought to the hat as she placed it on her head.

She was shocked when she heard the hat talk to her back, when it said, "My dear, you only belong in SLYTHERIN."

Lily, who had been eagerly anticipating what house her sister was going to be placed in, was now in shock.

"Hey, Evans, your sister can hang out with my little brother Regulus," Sirius Black called from farther down the lion's table.

"Yeah, sure, whatever, Black," Lily called back towards him. She couldn't believe that her own sister would be sorted into Slytherin, the house that was full of snakes who absolutely hated muggle-borns. She quickly made up her mind to send a note to her best friend Severus, to ensure that her younger sister was taken care of within the dungeon walls.

Meanwhile, Petunia, who was oblivious to the commotion going on at the Gryffindor table and was happily marching herself over towards the Slytherin table. She had tried hard to not notice, but she couldn't help but hear that her arrival had gotten much less attention than that Black boy's. Still, happy that she wasn't placed with her sister, she sat down at the edge of the table next to a girl with long, straight blond hair.

By the end of the sorting, there were four girls sitting at the end of the table and all were eager to share a room together. Narcissa Black, an older cousin of Regulus, was the only second year and she would be rooming with the first years. There was also Misty Slughorn, daughter of their new Head of House, and Susan Grettings, who was the only half-blood first year at the Slytherin table.

"Welcome to Hogwarts! Another year greets us in these halls. Please welcome our new students and celebrate with the older ones. Remember, there is a reason why the forbidden forest has its name. Now, I know you all have been traveling so let's eat!" Professor Dumbledore's voice boomed through the hall.

As soon as he sat down, chatter immediately filled the hall. Friends were reacquainted and first years were still in awe of their surroundings.

Petunia fidgeted nervously in her brand new school robes, which one of the nearby prefrects had already added a crest with a serpent on to the left side of her robes. Her tie, which originally had been black before she was sorted, had been converted to an emerald green, accented with silver stripes. Thinking back, she had wanted to come to Hogwarts ever since her sister had gotten her letter. Absently-mindedly and ignoring all of the food in front of her, she gazed up at the ceiling. It had millions of stars, some planets and of course, the floating candles, just like Lily had described it. Petunia next looked towards the Head table; Professor McGonagall was having a lively conversation with the Headmaster and a huge man sat on the other side of Dumbledore, who Misty pointed out was her father, Professor Slughorn.

Bored with the Head table and the teachers talking, she next gazed over to the other house tables. There was a skinny student, with long greasy hair sitting at the end of her table, with no one near him.

"That's odd, I wonder where his friends are?" Petunia thought to herself.

Finally, Petunia's wandering eyes landed on her sister sitting with all of her friends. They were all currently engaged in a laughing fit, for some unknown reason. There was that short stubby kid, a very shabby average sized kid who for some reason had his face filled with scratches, a tall skinny kid with black hair wearing the Black crest on his robes and another tall skinny kid with black hair, although his stood straight up, with the Potter crest on his robes. The four boys sat off to the side a little bit, with Lily and a couple of her girlfriends a little farther down the table.

"Misty, why do some people have family crests on their robes?" she hesitantly asked the plump girl sitting next to her.

"Oh, those are the wizarding nobility crests. If a student comes from a prestigious family, like the Blacks or the Potters or Malfoys, then they are allowed to wear their family crest as a symbol of status," Misty explained before she returned with her own question, "Are you muggle-born? Only a muggle-born wouldn't know that."

"Yes, but I think we have some magical distant relatives," Petunia lied smoothly, not liking the glaze a fifth year prefect with the Malfoy crest on his robes was giving her.

"Gotcha. Have you tried the pudding?" Narcissa said sweetly as she passed the younger girl a bowl of chocolate pudding.

"You bunch, firsties, follow me!" Malfoy bellowed to the group huddled around the end of the table, when all of their food had disappeared. The followed him down a flight of stairs to a blank wall. He showed them all where to tap their wands, muttered the password, "Murkwood" and a large section of the wall slid to the side to reveal a large room beyond it.

Entering the common room, Petunia saw that there was a huge fireplace surrounded by many chairs and a couple of couches. A gigantic banner that was made of deep, rich green velvet hung over the mantle on the fireplace, that read, "Slytherin, Cunning and Sly," scrolled across the top in elegant silver letters. Below the flowing letters, a snake slithered around the tapestry. Beyond the fireplace, there were a couple of tables. Along the walls there were a few bookcases and some portraits whose occupants seemed to be moving around. Off to one side, there was a bulletin board full of postings of one kind or another.

The four girls, who were all going to share a dorm, made their way over to a hallway which had a small plaque above it marked, "Ladies." The last door on their right opened to reveal a large room with four beds and even a couch in the middle. Each bed had its own nightstand with a mirror over it, and each girl's trunk was placed at the end of the bed.

"Girls!" the voice of the female prefect, who had changed Petunia's tie and robe for her, called, and the three first years went back out towards the common room. There they found their Head of House, Professor Slughorn, getting prepared to start his beginning of year meeting with his house. The meeting, which Petunia found very interesting, went over academic expectations, behavioral expectations, general rules and Quidditich try outs.

Later on that night, when she was lying in her four poster bed that had deep green hangings, Petunia thought how magical Hogwarts was. She was eagerly looking forward to her lessons in the morning and the girls in her dorm seemed friendly enough. The dungeons were a bit damp for her taste but she loved the way that the fireplace was always kept roaring, it helped drive the draftiness away. Inside their room, which was very large considering it normally housed up to six girls, there were three magical windows that looked out over the greenhouses as well as a small door that led to a beautiful huge bathroom. The house elves, the magical servants Narcissa explained to her, had even managed to fit in a desk for each girl.

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AN: I would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to review! Thank you for reading! Comments are heart-warming, suggestions welcome, and corrections much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Everything belongs to JK Rowling. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

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Petunia woke up early than she usually did, eager and excited to see what she would learn that day. Walking into the bathroom, she happily ran a bath for herself in the huge bathroom, she just couldn't believe how many taps there were. Last night, Narcissa had showed them how to make different kinds of scented bubbles come out of each of the taps and Petunia thoroughly enjoyed her bath.

After her luxurious bath, she changed into her brand new uniform and robes. Next, she woke up the rest of her roommates, and after a few minutes, the four girls headed down to breakfast.

"Its so useful to have Narcissa with us, otherwise we would get lost easily," Petunia mused as they approached the entrance to the Great Hall, where she could already smell the delicious aroma of breakfast. At the end of breakfast, a sixth year prefect came over and handed all of them a timetable.

"Cool! We start with Transfiguration and then we have Defense Against the Dark Arts," her new friend Misty said from over her shoulder.

"Yeah and double Potions this afternoon. What do you think will be the most interesting?" Petunia responded.

"Oh, I don't know, Transfiguration sounds kind of neat. I am really looking forward to Charms tomorrow morning," Susan said from her other side.

"Professor Flitwick, the charms Professor, can be rather entertaining at times, but watch out for Professor McGonagall. She is a very good teacher but she is also very stern. Its best to not be on her bad side," Narcissa chimed in as she passed Susan a danish.

Since classes were due to start in a little over fifteen minutes the three first years went back to the dungeons to quickly retrieve their book bags. Thankfully, they didn't get lost on the way to Transfiguration. When they entered the room, they noticed a tabby cat with big rings around its eyes sitting on the teacher's desk, but the strict Professor was nowhere in sight.

By the time the bell rang, everyone was wondering where they their professor was, and so they were all very startled when the cat on the desk suddenly turned into their professor, dressed in her teaching robes with her hair pulled back in a sharp bun.

A chorus of "Wicked!" and "Cool!" rose from the back of the classroom, especially form the boys.

"I will not tolerate speaking in my classroom. Transfiguration is a precise art and I will not tolerate any horseplay, or talking in my classroom. Am I understood?" she said in a cold, but quiet voice, that instantly silenced the whole entire class.

This time a single chorus of "Yes, ma'am," went up this time.

"Now, today we will start our study of Transfiguration by taking notes, wands away," she stated in a crisp voice. A groan escaped from her class, but everyone obeyed her.

Petunia quickly took out her brand new quill, made of an Eagle feather, and a piece of parchment, quickly making notes. The class flew by quickly, and Petunia was fairly sure that she understood all of the concepts Professor McGonagall had presented.

"I want you to practice saying the incantation and the wand movements for homework," the teacher said as the bell rang.

Petunia and her friends quickly left the classroom and then proceeded merrily to Defense Against the Dark Arts. The two classrooms weren't far apart and they easily reached the DADA classroom. Quickly sitting in the second row, Susan stared around the room in wonder. On one side of the classroom, there were large windows letting natural light stream into room, and the room had a cathedral ceiling, creating a very airy atmosphere in the room. A large desk sat at the front, with a projection screen standing next it. Off to one corner of the room, there was a spiral staircase, leading up to a mysterious door. As soon as the bell rang, the mysterious door opened and their professor, donned in dark navy robes with gold trim, appeared in the doorway.

"Good Morning class," he bellowed, as he descended down the staircase.

"Good Morning, sir," the class respectfully answered.

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. My name is Professor Guzenhauser, and I am a former Auror. I have spent most of my career fighting Dark Wizards, going as far back as the Grindelwald era. Defense takes a lot of practice, and hard work, but don't get discouraged," he said in a rich booming voice, that had a slight German accent to it.

"He's hot," Petunia heard a girl whisper behind her and another girl replied, "Yeah, Aurors are always so fit and lean."

"While I appreciate your comments, Miss"

"Jones," she girl quietly but boldly interrupted.

"Well, Ms. Jones, I am not fit because I feel like catching the eyes of first year witches in my class. Stay after class," he said in a firm voice.

"Yes, Sir," the girl answered, timidly this time.

"Now today, we are going to learn the philosophy behind blocking. Blocking is essential to Defense Against the Dark arts because it can shield you from most curses and spells. By knowing a few good blocks, you can keep yourself – and others – safe from an attacker," he began as he flicked his wand, making notes appear on the chalkboard.

Petunia grinned to herself, and began furiously taking notes. She couldn't wait to learn everything she could about magic. If she kept this fascination up, she would eventually end up like her sister, the bookworm.

Walking up towards lunch, she passed her sister and her group of giggling friends.

"Hey, Lil!" Petunia called from across the hallway.

"'Tuney! Where are you headed?" Lily replied across the corridor, as she weaved her way to her younger sister.

"Lunch, sis, how often will I be able to see you?" Petunia asked eagerly, she was used to hanging out with her sister.

"Why don't you meet me in the back of the library, let's say around 8? We can study together until curfew, if you'd like," Lily suggested, as she flipped her long red hair over her shoulder.

"Sure, sis!" Petunia eagerly responded. Her friends were cool but she liked the companionship of her sister. Also, her sister was exceedingly smart, and she had a couple questions about her Transfiguration homework.

"What did your sister want, Pet?" Susan asked when Petunia rejoined them at the end of the Slytherin table.

"She offered to help me with my homework tonight in the library," Petunia quickly replied, piling mashed potatoes onto her plate.

"Its only the first day of school, and you two are already discussing homework!" Misty groaned from the other side of the table.

"Could we join you in the library with your sister? I am so confused about that incantation Professor Guzenhauser was talking about. His name is a mouthful!" Susan queried.

"I think I am supposed to go see my father tonight," Misty said quietly, she was still very shy about the fact that her father was a teacher at her school. She felt overshadowed by his reputation.

"Um, I am sure Lily wouldn't mind, Susan," Petunia replied before eagerly tucking into her lunch.

"Great!"

"How did your classes go this morning, girls?" Narcissa said politely as she daintily sat down and began dishing out some soup into a small bowl.

"Wonderful! The Defense teacher is a really looker! But, Transfiguration sounds really interesting," Susan grinned, before finishing off her sandwich.

"Earth to you three! Do you talk about anything beyond school work?" Misty teased, "You know, I am the daughter of a professor and all I hear about at home is school."

"So what would you prefer to talk about? Boys?" shot back Petunia, in a playful manner.

"Or food?" Narcissa joined in, as she noticed that Misty was on her third pudding.

The four girls ended lunch in a laughing fit, leaving the students around them wondering why they were all laughing so hard.

"Hey, firsties! What's so funny?" the sixth year prefect lightly scolded. The only girl in their group that wasn't laughing so hard she was doubled over was Narcissa.

"Your sister," giggle, "transfigured your aunt's, "laugh, "teacup in a rat?" Misty finally managed to get out through her laughter.

"She sure did," Petunia responded.

"If you three don't hurry up, you are going to be late for Potions" Narcissa stated calmly, although her lips were curled up in amusement.

"And I would hate to get a detention with Dad! He would probably ground me for a month," Misty groaned, "C'mon you two! I know how to get to this class at least."

They managed to make it to Potions on time, taking the only three seats left in the classroom- directly in the front row.

Rather than give them instructions, Professor Slughorn had them brew a simple potion was harmless to demonstrate who was a natural and who has hopeless. Fortunately, Misty and Petunia appeared to be naturals and easily made the potion. Susan, however, was not that lucky.

"Miss Grettings, I believe that you failed to add the moon fern, _Evanesco_," Professor Slughorn said when he peered over her cauldron, "Sorry about that, how about you stop by tonight and remake this potion for me, say about eight o'clock?"

"Yes, sir," Susan miserably replied.

When they walked out, Misty put her arm around Susan.

"Don't feel bad, Susan. My dad is a good guy, he will help you and teach you how to make potions. Besides, Petunia and I will help you, won't we, Pet?" Misty said cheerfully, as the three entered the common room.

"Of course we will!" Petunia added.

They dropped down onto the green couch in the front of the fire. For a little while they chatted, before they pulled out their wands and began practicing their Transfiguration homework.

Soon, it was dinner time and the three girls trudged their way up to the Great Hall. Narcissa was off with some second year friends of hers, nevertheless, the first years didn't get themselves lost. One of the first year Slytherin boys, Regulus Black, sauntered up towards the group as they were approaching the Great Hall.

"Hey girls," he said flirtatiously.

"Hey Black," Misty responded, "What's up?"

"Care to join me for dinner?" he said, in his best seduction voice. Since he had been home-schooled, he had very little contact with the children his age before coming to Hogwarts, so underneath his exterior he was a very nervous boy talking with girls.

"Sure," they all replied together, giggling slightly to themselves.

They all spent dinner together, scheming about pranks they could play on the teachers or the third year Gryffindors. Most were harmless and a lot of them were also very impractical.

"Your older brother is in Gryffindor too? So is my sister," Petunia said as they finished dessert.

"The one with the red hair?" Regulus asked.

"Yup" Petunia replied. She had felt a kind of bond with the boy, because they both had decent, but sometimes annoying, older siblings who were third years in Gryffindor.

While Misty and Susan went off to the library after dinner so that Susan could research the potion she had to remake later on in the evening, Regulus chivalrously decided to escort Petunia back to the Common Room.

"My lady," he said, bowing slightly and offering her arm.

Giggling nervously, she took the proffered arm and they walked, arm and arm back to the common room. Narcissa gave her a little nod of approval as she walked past, which went unnoticed by Regulus. What Regulus did notice were the glares he received from Malfoy, an older prefect, and from Snape, the greasy potions kid.

Having reached the couch in front of the fireplace, they both sat down and pulled out the Defense essay that was due for Professor Guzenhauser next week. Their professor told them that they had to hand in a satisfactory essay about blocks before anyone would be allowed to cast the blocks they were learning about.

"Wow, you take notes really well!" Regulus exclaimed, as he admired her neat notes that she had taken that day in class, "This makes the essay so much easier to write. Thanks a lot, Pet!"

Blushing slightly at the praise, she mumbled, "You're welcome," and returned to her own essay.

When her essay was just about half-way finished, she looked up at the clock on the mantle and realized that is was five minutes to eight.

"Oh! Hey Regulus, I'm sorry but I have to run. I promised to meet my sister in the library for a little while," she apologized, as she gathered up her parchments.

"Would you care for an escort? This essay is getting pretty boring. Besides, it's the least I can do after you loaned me these beautiful notes," he replied.

Smiling, she said "yes" and they proceeded to the library. On the way there, they passed Susan and Misty, who were rushing to try to reach Professor Slughorn's office by eight.

Walking into the library, where there were books floating here and there by themselves, Petunia was sure that she had fallen deeply in love with Hogwarts, the castle and everything inside of it.

"I love magic!" she whispered.

"It is a wonderful thing," Regulus smirked from beside her, as they approached the table where her sister was working alone. At the table diagonally off to one side, Regulus' brother Sirius and his group of friends were furiously working on their homework. It was obvious to Lily that the only reason that the group was even in the library was to try to get her to help them with their homework. All of their summer homework for Potions and Transfiguration was due the next day.

"'Tuney!" Lily exclaimed as she made room for her sister, "And you must be Regulus?"

"Yes," he said, as he offered his hand for her to shake.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Lily said, perfectly aware that Sirius and crew were watching.

"I'll see you in the Common Room later on, Pet? So I can return these notes?" he asked.

"Yup, thanks for the escort Reg," she replied, smiling.

"Anytime, Pet. Good Evening Lily," he bowed and made his way to the entrance of the library, ignoring the whistles that his brother and friends were giving him.

"Hey, little Evans? Got a crush on my brother?" Sirius called from the table.

"Stuff it, Black. Or I'll stuff it for you," Lily growled, and Sirius having been on the receiving side of a couple of Lily's hexes immeadilty backed down.

"So, Sis, how is Hogwarts treating you?" Lily began, "Any problems with your Housemates?"

"There is one prefect, Malfoy I think, that keeps giving me glares everytime I see him, but other than that everyone has been great!" Petunia answered.

"Pet, I want you to be careful. There are a lot of people in Slytherin who come from families who hate Muggle-borns like us, alright? Take the Blacks, for instance. I have heard Sirius complain about his family's "pureblood mania" and I want to make sure that you stay safe. I realize that you were sorted into Slytherin and you are more than capable for being sneaky and cunning, just watch your back, alright?" Lily finally finished her warning and was carefully watching her sister's expression to see how well it was received.

"So you are saying my House is out to get us?" Petunia challenged.

"No! I am not saying that everyone is out to get you. Just watch out for a few, okay?" Lily responded, worried that they were going to have a fight in the middle of the library and James and crew were going to witness it.

"Perhaps I could explain better, Lily?" a silky voice said from behind them.

"Severus," Petunia greeted. He had grown up around the block from them and the sisters knew him because they all played at the same playground when they were younger.

"Petunia," he started as he sat down next to Lily," people like Lucius and a few others, have grown up with an inborn hatred of people who are Muggle-born. They believe that they are close to royalty because they are pure-blood. You will notice that we are some of the few people in our House who aren't pureblood. Just watch out, especially for Malfoy," he finished.

"Well, if you aren't pureblood, why are you wearing a crest on your robes?" she challenged, still not quite believing what she was being told.

"My mother was a pureblood of the Prince family. Since I am the heir to the Prince fortune now, despite the fact that I have a drunken Muggle father, I wear the Prince crest," he answered, confident that they had gotten through to her, even if it would take a few minutes for it to sink in for her.

"You will help me, will warn me about things that you might hear?" Petunia asked, sounding a little more scared now.

"Of course," Severus replied in his silkiest voice.

"Snivellus, what exactly can you help anyone with, besides possibly your greasy potions? Why don't you run along and go play with your Potions set? We can talk to little 'Tuney here about how sneaky and backstabbing the Slytherins are," James Potter said, leaning over their table.

"Potter, stuff it or I'll stuff you and Black and then tie you both together and hang you upside down," Lily growled out again.

"Easy, tiger," James said as he tried to defuse the situation, "if you go with me to the next Hogsmeade weekened, I'll just leave the happy family alone."

"Potter, you have three seconds to get out of my sight before they can't find you until the next Hogsmeade Weekend," was the response out of an irate looking Lily.

"Mate, I do believe that you have royally blown that, back off, will you?" Lupin whispered into Potter's ear.

"Always the sensible one, Lupin," Severus wryly commented, looking amused.

Eventually, the Marauders, or so they called themselves, left the library and left the three alone.

"Wow, they are jerks," Petunia commented when they had left.

"Got that right, sis, but you should be getting back to your common room, its almost first year curfew," Lily responded.

"Come, 'Tuney, I'll walk you back," Severus offered.

"No thanks, you can stay here with Lily. If everyone keeps escorting me everywhere, I'll never learn how to get around, Good night, Lil," Petunia retorted, scooping up her book bag.

Later on, when she was laying in her bed, staring at the top of her canopy, she thought about how awesome Hogwarts was.

"_Magic is amazing, I still can't quite believe I am here and that I am witch. Pretty soon, I don't think I could live a life without magic. Tomorrow is another day_," she mused, before she fell asleep.

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AN: Please read and review! Suggestions always welcome...


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Everything belongs to JK Rowling!

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The weeks passed quickly at Hogwarts, as Petunia found out. Before she knew it, it was the end of October and Halloween was coming up. Misty and Susan had quickly become close friends with Petunia and the three young Slytherins were usually seen only together. Susan had drastically improved in Potions thanks to constant tutoring from Misty and Petunia, not to mention a little help from Misty's father, Professor Slughorn. Petunia continued to be fascinated by magic and she had promised herself to learn everything she could about the magical world. She was particularly thrilled by Quidditch, and her flying lessons.

One chilly Friday in November, the trio was headed towards the greenhouses for Herbology.

"I can't wait to see Slytherin in action tomorrow! And, if they win, there will be another great party in the Common Room!" Petunia excitedly chattered.

"Pet, there is life outside of Quidditch and parties, you know," Susan commented from her left side.

"Yeah, books!" Misty chimed in and the two girls started giggling.

"Oh? And I suppose you two actually have plans for this evening?" Petunia retorted, teasingly.

"Um, actually, we are going to Professor Slughorn's party," Misty replied softly.

"You both are? Well, what am I supposed to do?" she questioned, a little hurt that she wasn't included.

"Snog Regulus," Susan and Misty whispered conspiratorially, since he was just a little bit ahead of them.

This stopped Petunia, and she began to lecture them about how they were just friends who liked to study together before continuing down the path to the greenhouses. They arrived at their destination and class started. The rest of the day passed quickly, and soon it was time for Misty and Susan to go to Professor Slughorn's party.

"Have fun, you two!" she called as they left their dorm room.

"Behave yourself!" they replied.

Sighing to herself, she picked up her book bag and proceeded to make her way to the Common Room where she met up with Regulus. Giving a brief nod to Severus, Regulus offered his arm to Petunia and then winded their way to the library.

"I just don't understand how this incantation works for Transfiguration, Pet," Regulus questioned his friend, as she was bent over her potions essay, when the two overheard the Maurauder's approached.

"Hey, Reg!" Sirius called, as he sat down.

"Yeah, Sirius?"

"Are you going to come root for me tomorrow in the Quidditch match tomorrow?"

Regulus turned around in his chair and calmly replied, "Now, why would I root for the enemy?"

"Your brother is your enemy? You jest!" Sirius exclaimed, clearly surprised by his younger brother's choice of words.

"No, I am Slytherin, Gryffindors are our enemies and since you play for the Quidditch team for Gryffindor, that means that to root for you, I would have to root for my enemy. Now if you don't mind, I need to resume my essay."

Remus and James were snickering to themselves at the table, and they both quickly hid their chuckles when Sirius whipped around.

"Can you believe him? Telling me I am the enemy?" Sirius said, staring blankly at the parchment in front of him.

"Mate, if the situations were reversed, I am sure you wouldn't hesitate call him the enemy," Remus offered.

"Remus, if you weren't so smart and didn't help me with my homework, I definitely wouldn't hang out with you," Sirius retorted. James and Remus started laughing hysterically at this proclamation. After a few more minutes of attempting to write an essay, Sirius muttered something about Quidditch practice and stalked out of the library. Stuffing his parchment and books into his bookbag, James swiftly followed.

"They can be complete morons" Remus thought to himself as he returned back to his essay.

"I wonder where Lily is tonight," Petunia mused out loud a little later.

"I passed her in the dungeons before we came to the library. Wasn't she going to the Slug Club party?" Regulus offered.

"Right, I remember her mentioning something about that. I wish I was good at potions," Petunia muttered as she flipped through a bunch of books, attempting to find out how a certain ingredient interacted in the potion they were writing an essay on.

"You aren't the only one," Regulus echoed, "Do you want to give up for the night and go back to the Common Room? It's a little chilly in here."

"Sure," she said, frustrated by her lack of success in find the answer she wanted.

Petunia and Regulus went back to their Common Room and played a couple of games of Exploding Snap before they had the brilliant idea to ask Severus Snape, a decent but greasy potions whiz kid in their House.

"Hey, Severus, could Regulus and I ask you a question or two about potions for our essay? Please?" Petunia cautiously asked, as she approached the chair where he was curled up reading a book.

He peered over the top of his book and barked, "What?"

"What has your boxers in a twist?" she mumbled.

"Shall I tell your mother about that language over break? I apologize for my roughness, now, what was your question?" he responded, as he reverently put a bookmark into the book he was reading and gently set it in his lap.

"Why do mint leaves spoil pepper-up potion?" she asked, as she quickly dragged out a spare bit of parchment and quill.

"The mint leaves interact with the asphodel, rendering it useless. Without the asphodel, the potion looses a lot of effectiveness without a decongestant. Is that enough for your essay?" Snape queried politely and upon seeing her nod, resumed pursuing his book.

Regulus, who had looked up from cleaning up the exploding snap game, leaned into Petunia's ear and asked, "What is Asphodel?"

At this, Petunia laughed out loud. "Asphodel? You know, the ingredient, the one that made you cry during Potions yesterday?"

"I think I would have preferred to forget that incident rather than remember what Asphodel is," Regulus dryly commented, causing her to begin laughing again.

Severus, who was listening to their conversation, hid his smirk with his book.

At little while later, Misty and Susan wandered through the entrance and plopped themselves down on either side of Petunia.

"How was the party?" Petunia asked as she continued to write the Potions essay.

"It was fine. Your sister was there. Apparently, she is one of Professor Slughorn's favorite students. She even offered to brew an acne-banishing potion for me!" Susan exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah! And Dad offered to let her use his private lab for the potion! I can't believe it! That potion is so difficult to brew, I really want some! You are really lucky to have her for a sister! You get to have access to all that potion making ability. And to think, I am the daughter of a potions professor, saying that!" Misty added.

Petunia, who was starting to build a bad headache from all the noise in the Common Room, listlessly told them, "Yeah, she's a good sis. I am going to bed, I'll see you two in the morning." Petunia strode into her dorm room, and unceremoniously dropped her book bag next to her trunk. Within five minutes, she was changed and fast asleep.

Meanwhile, in the Common Room, Misty asked, "What do you think set her off?"

"I dunno, but she definitely didn't seem happy. I think she spent all evening with Black. Hey Black!" Susan called out.

"Don't look at me! We spent part of the evening in the library looking up an ingredient for our potions essay. Then, we came back here, played a couple of games of Exploding Snap, before she had this great idea to ask Snape for the answer for our essay. She pulled out her essay and sat here writing until you two showed up," he retorted, defending himself and his friend, "She was in a perfectly fine mood a little while ago. Maybe all that talk about her sister set her off?"

"No way!" They are good friends!" Misty said, unbelieving his story.

"Slughorn, if you actually paid attention to your friend's mood, and listen to Mr. Black, you would have noticed that she was in a perfectly fine mood when you two ungracefully entered the Common Room," Snape drawled from his chair in the corner.

"No one asked you, Snape!" Susan said hotly.

"Now, girls, what are all these angry words for?" Narcissa questioned as she gracefully sat down where Petunia's vacancy had left an open seat.

"We just got back from Professor Slughorn's party, and when we came in, Petunia was working on her essay. She asked us how the party went, we told her and she just got up and went towards the dorm, with no explanation," Susan said, calming down slightly.

"Perhaps she was feeling a little under the weather," Narcissa commented lightly, not wanting to get either girl angry again and tried to diffuse the situation.

"Well, I'm beat, I am going to go crash. Coming Misty?" Susan announced a few minutes later, the complete opposite of Narcissa's grace.

"Yup!" Misty said, bouncing off the couch.

"Night, 'Cissa!" Susan called as she headed towards the hallway that led to their dorm room.

"Good Night Susan, Misty" Narcissa answered, allowing her mouth to curl upwards in slight amusement.

Narcissa thought that perhaps it was time to talk to Professor Slughorn about providing some lessons for Misty in the mannerisms and grace that came along with being a pureblood female.

The next day dawned bright and clear but also very cold. Petunia, her headache now gone, bounced out of bed. She put on a heavy sweater and donned her school robes. Shaking her head at her roommates, who were still sleeping soundly despite the fact that it was already half past ten.

When she reached the common room, the only other person inside of it was Narcissa.

"Good Morning, Narcissa. Are you going to the Quidditch match later on?" Petunia said politely.

"Ah, Good Morning Petunia. I wouldn't miss a Slytherin match for the world! Susan and Misty seemed a little upset last night with your departure. I trust everything is alright?" Narcissa replied, at the same time satisfying her curiosity as to the events of last night.

"Well, I might have been a little abrupt with them last night. I had struggled all night with Potions essay, only for them to come back and brag about how awesome my sister is with Potions. It was a little big frustrating, if you know what I mean? Have you already eaten?" Petunia explained.

"Breakfast sounds lovely. Let's walk and talk, shall we?" Narcissa answered, rising out of the chair and beginning to walk next to Petunia, "I could see how that might have been frustrating. You might want to explain that to them, however."

"Thank you!" Petunia said, gratefully. They gossiped about everything from Quidditch to boys to classes on the journey to the Great Hall.

By the time they had reached the Common Room after their meal, most of their House was at least awake. Misty and Susan were huddled next to each other, whispering back and forth.

"Good morning, Misty, Susan. Can we chat for a minute?" Petunia said, gently sitting down in the chair across from where the two were on the couch.

"Sure, Pet! What's up?" Misty said.

"Sorry if I was abrupt with you last night. I spent a good portion of the night frustrated by that Potions essay we were assigned. Then you two return and talk nonstop about my sister, who is brilliant in Potions. It was a tad bit annoying, alright? I don't mind if you two are friends with my sister, I just was frustrated last night," Petunia finished.

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess," Misty responded.

"Yeah, no worries, Pet. We were just a bit baffled by your behavior. Next time instead of taking it out on us, talk with us, 'kay?" Susan added.

"Sure."

The rest of the day was spent cheering the Slytherin Quidditch team as they prepped for the match. Eventually, the team left the Common Room and most people headed to their rooms to dress warmly for the match. Petunia put on two sweaters, followed by her heaviest school robe and then her winter cloak.

"You are going to roast!" Misty commented, as she watched her friend pile on the layers.

"Its October, not January!" Susan added.

"I am dressed in layers. If I get to warm, I will take a layer off. Simple concept," Petunia defended her outfit.

"Or, you could wear what you normally would, and if you got cold, you would cast a warming charm. Didn't Flitwick specifically teach us that charm for this Quidditch game? Start thinking like a witch, Pet!" Misty gently scolded.

"Um, right," Petunia said sheepishly, a faint blush reaching her cheeks.

The game lasted for about three hours, with James Potter catching the snitch and winning the game for Gryffindor. Slytherin was very disappointed. There was no harm done between the three friends, they laughed and joked nonstop. Petunia, however, felt a beginning twinge of jealousy towards her sister. Not only was her sister brilliant in Potions and Charms, but she constantly had boys asking her out.

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AN: Thank you for everyone who read and reviewed! And thank you to everyone who puts up with my updating schedule. A special thank you goes out to HealerPomfrey, for without her ideas this chapter would have been a long time coming! Please hit the review button! I know you want to.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Everything belongs to JK Rowling.

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Time flew by for Petunia and her friends. Eventually Petunia confessed her jealousy to her sister, who immediately offered to tutor her in Potions. Every Friday night, the two sisters spent the evening discussing Potions. Frequently, either Regulus or Severus joined them in their discussions. Eventually, Regulus was caught up in Potions and he frequently found himself earning high grades. His parents had stopped sending threatening owls about his grades and he was more relaxed than ever.

It was now the Friday evening before Christmas holidays. Both sisters noticed that Severus and Regulus weren't acting like themselves. As they were sitting in the library, working on their holiday potions essay, Petunia decided to ask Regulus about it.

"So, Reg, are you going home for break?"

"Yes. Do you have that book that showed the reference to Murkwood?" he responded.

"Sure, right here." Petunia handed it over to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes, listening to Severus and Lily chat in low voices at a nearby table.

"Any exciting plans?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, nothing special."

"Reg, tell me, what's wrong? You aren't acting like yourself. "

"It's nothing, Pet, let it go." Just then, Sirius appeared out of nowhere and whispered something in Regulus' ear, and for once, Sirius was alone and looking serious. Regulus nodded his assent and furiously began packing his belongings. Sirius stood off to one side, watching and waiting.

"What was that about?"

"I need to go see the Headmaster. Something has come up at home, have a good break Pet. Oh, and please don't send any owls or try to contact me. My parents would have a fit if they knew you were writing to me, alright? Thanks." He leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek.

"Happy Christmas, Petunia," he whispered and then the two brothers disappeared.

Petunia sat in silence for a few minutes, stunned, before Lily and Severus came over to join her.

"What happened?" Lily asked gently.

"Sirius came over and whispered something in Regulus' ear, he said he had to go home because something came up and then he just left," Petunia said, now staring off into space.

Lily grasped her sister's hand and just held it, silently offering her support.

"He told me not to write him, Lil, why would he do that?"

Lily looked down at the table, trying to find a way to explain Pureblood mania to her sister, but Severus beat her to answering.

"The Blacks are a very wealthy family, and are purebloods. Regulus is not allowed to associate himself with Muggleborns like yourself and he is only asking you to do that to keep your friendship secret and protected," Severus answered, but without any of his usual sarcasm.

The rest of the night, Petunia was down and nothing that Lily, Severus, Misty or Susan did made her smile. By the time she eventually went to bed, even Narcissa and the other girls had noticed that she was not herself.

"Good night, Narcissa, Misty, Susan," Petunia said politely as she excused herself and made her way back towards the dormitory.

Narcissa raised a graceful eyebrow to question the two other girls but both of them shrugged.

"She came back from the library like this, and for once, Black didn't escort her back down here," Misty explained.

"Black was called away on a family emergency," Severus' silky voice said from behind Susan, causing the poor girl to jump in fright.

"Severus! It is not polite to scare a young lady like that!" Narcissa gently scolded.

"My apologies, Narcissa. I do hope you can forgive me, Miss Grettings?"

"Shove off, Snape!" was his reply from Susan. Narcissa shook her head in disapproval but said nothing.

The rest of the weekend passed quickly and soon they were all on the Hogwarts Express, speeding towards London. Lily and Severus had locked themselves in a compartment and refused to let Petunia or anyone else in. Petunia sighed to herself and walked back to the compartment that she was sharing with Narcissa and Susan, as well as a couple of other Slytherins. Misty had stayed at school with her father.

"What's up?" Susan asked as Petunia flopped down on the seat beside her.

"Lil and Severus locked themselves in a compartment and aren't letting me in," Petunia groused.

"Did you have an urgent matter?" Narcissa asked in her usual refined way.

"I just wanted to know if Severus was going to –" here she stopped herself, "No, there was no pressing matter. I just wanted to spend a couple of minutes with them."

Narcissa arched her left eyebrow at this statement but said nothing. She suspected that Petunia was going to give away a piece of possibly interesting information but she had stopped herself for some reason.

Susan looked at Petunia curiously, but knew by now to not press it.

"So, Pet, do you and Lily have plans for the holidays?"

"I don't think so. We will probably go to our grandparents for Christmas dinner but normally we just stay at home. What about you?"

"I think my parents might have mentioned skiing in the Alps. I am not sure."

"What is skiing?" Narcissa inquired.

"A muggle sport that is played on snow. The last time I skied I broke my leg, and we haven't gone back since," answered Petunia.

"You broke your leg? Sounds like particularly dangerous sport," Narcissa commented.

"Yup!" the other two chimed in together and started giggling. When they finally composed themselves, Narcissa had gone back to flipping through _Witch Weekly_.

"So, Narcissa, do you have plans for the holidays?" Petunia asked politely.

" I believe my parents are going to Switzerland for a charity function and I am to accompany them to a ball," Narcissa said without any feeling.

"Sounds pretty boring," Susan replied.

"You have a lot to learn about being a proper lady in the wizarding world then," Narcissa said, as she resumed her reading.

Susan glared at her until Petunia convinced her to play a couple of games of Exploding Snap. Before they knew it, it was time to change and see their parents.

"I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Narcissa. Do enjoy your time in Switzerland," Petunia said in the typical Slytherin manner, before they got off the train. Like Regulus, Narcissa had explained that her parents would be most unhappy to see them together.

"Same to you, Petunia. Behave yourself now," the older girl commented. Petunia gave her a shy smile before she stepped off the train.

"Mom! Dad!" Petunia said running over to them.

"Petunia! How was your term?" her mother asked as she pulled her into a hug.

"It was wonderful, I love Hogwarts! Of course, home is better but I really like school," Petunia responded, grateful that she was home.

"Here comes Lily and is that Severus behind her?" her Dad pointed out.

"Sure is," Petunia answered him.

"My, he has sure grown a lot over the term," her mother added.

"Hi Mom and Dad!" Lily said cheerfully. "Would it be alright if we brought Severus home? His parents had other things come up."

"Of course, dear. Severus, how are you doing?" she answered.

"Wonderful, Mrs. Evans," he said.

"How many times I have I told you to call me Rose? Well, c'mon then, wouldn't want to waste time hanging around the train station," she beckoned them. They picked up their trunks and followed her.

Petunia thought that Severus looked unnaturally stiff but having observed him for a good portion of her life, she knew it was dread in coming home. She remembered how she and Lily had to beg him to even get him to consider returning home for Christmas.

Once they had returned home, Petunia gazed happily at the small white house, the lawn was covered in snow and the path had been shoveled. As her Dad parked in the garage, she smiled and went to help her sister unload the trunks.

Severus then headed towards his house, brushing off all the offers of accompaniment.

Lily had a very concerned look as she followed him with her eyes as he made his way down the road to the shabby green house at the end of the road.

"You okay, sis?" Petunia said softly.

"I'll be fine, I just hope he is going to be okay,' Lily answered distantly.

"Well, you know he will come over here if it gets too bad. He always does," Petunia reached out and hugged her sister. After a few moments Petunia said, "Let's get unpacked before dinner."

As the two girls unpacked their trunks in their shared room and then went to assist their mother in preparing dinner.

After dinner, snow gently began to fall and the family lit a fire in the fireplace and had a nice cozy evening together, laughing and playing board games.

Just before everyone went to bed, they heard an odd noise coming from the back door. When Petunia's father went to investigate, the other three sat huddled on the couch.

A few moments later they heard him call, "Rose, send Petunia upstairs. Lily come out here- NOW!"

Although Petunia was indignant at being sent up to her room, she realized that it was a necessity in this case. She just hoped that Lily would tell her later on. Her mother scurried back downstairs and she could hear them all talking in low voices.

"What happened, Sev? Oh God, how did you even get here?" she heard Lily say. Unable to keep her curiosity to herself, she went downstairs.

"Fell…down…stairs," Severus stammered out before he fell unresponsive again.

"Mom, we have to get him medical help! I'll go call 911!" Lily exclaimed.

"No! Let's floo Hogwarts and get Madam Pomfrey, she will be able to heal him faster and be able to document the abuse!" Petunia protested. "Seriously! Think like a witch!"

"Oh, err, right," Lily stammered. Petunia glanced in her parent's direction. Her father was doing what he could for him, because he was a Muggle Doctor.

Petunia took action and retrieved the emergency bag of floo powder that they had bought in Diagon Alley. She went into the fireplace and yelled "Hogwarts, Headmaster's office!"

"Miss Evans! What a pleasant surprise! How can I help you today?" Professor Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Sir, Severus Snape just showed up at our house and he is badly injured. Please send us help!"

"Right away, Miss Evans," he answered in a soothing voice. She went back through the Floo and a few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore were standing in their living room.

"Severus, my dear, oh, what has that man done to you now?" she muttered to herself. Quickly, she began waving her wand in complicated motions, trying to assess his injuries.

"Madam Pomfrey?" Severus whispered.

"Right here. Don't worry, we will have you fixed up in no time. Try to relax for me, alright?" she soothed.

After a little while, Pomfrey had declared Severus fit for transportation to Hogwarts.

"Sir, if it's not too much trouble, do you think I could stay at Hogwarts, to keep Severus company?" Lily asked hesitantly as she watched the Medi-Witch and Severus disappear in the green flames.

Dumbledore looked over at Petunia's parents and saw the look on their faces. "Actually, I was wondering your parents and family wouldn't mind staying at Hogwarts for a little while?"

"Headmaster! We would be delighted to come see the school. We will be able to see the school, won't we, as Muggles, I mean?" her father asked, curiously.

"There are ways to get around that particular charm, especially as parents of students. Oh, and ladies, I give you permission to pack with magic. Hurry up now!"

"Thank you, Headmaster!" the two sisters exclaimed as they ran off to pack their trunks which they had so recently unpacked.

"Headmaster, is there anything specific we should pack?" Rose asked nervously. While she was proud of her daughters' magical abilities, she was still a little nervous about magic.

"Just some basic necessities," he said, his blue eyes still twinkling. As she left to go back a couple of things, Mr. Evans and the headmaster were left standing in the living room.

"Headmaster, would you be able to clean our carpet magically? I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I don't feel comfortable leaving the house with blood all over the floor," Mr. Evans said, almost embarrassed by the request.

"Of course, Mr. Evans. There are definitely times when magic is most helpful. You were watching Madam Pomfrey work with the utmost fascination. Do you have any experience in the Healing arts?"

"Please, call me Duncan. I'm a doctor, and I find her methods of treating him to be absolutely amazing. I would love to have access to some of those spells!"

They continued their conversation for a little while they waited. Soon, the two sisters came bounding down the stairs, their trunks floating behind them, thanks to Lily's charm.

In another minute, Rose came with a couple of suitcases. She looked nervous but determined at the same time.

"All set?" the Headmaster asked.

"Just let us lock the door," Mr. Evans said and once he was done the family of four was transported to Hogwarts.

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AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! And, thank your for reading and sticking with me. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know!


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